Shrink rap: Dear Patience

We haven't seen you for a long time. You help us to wait peacefully without action or restlessness. You give us the capacity to accept and tolerate delay, to endure with a quality of calmness.

We have become a society geared for the fast lane. Frustration abounds if we have to wait. We drive-thru to get our meals, go to the express check out, instantly know who-how-what and where on our phones. Our high speed technology and 'Google it now and get it now' has delayed your coming to visit us.

Dear Patience, we need you to visit soon. No matter how much we want immediate gratification, there are still things that take time. Things that take your presence, dear Patience.

The grieving people need you. They respond to loss with anger, denial, blaming, and desperation. They so badly want their pain to be magically taken away. Only your time will heal, Patience. Please be with those who are grief-stricken.

Be with those who are sidelined by an injury, dear Patience. Help them to follow all medical advise and therapies. And please be with them as they rest. Stay beside them as they wait peacefully for the healing process. Dear Patience, you know all too well how it can be painful while enduring and tolerating delay.

Dear Patience, please visit those who are growing crops and gardens. Seeds take time to germinate and the seedlings can be slow to reach for the sun. Help us to wait as our crops grow to the fruitfulness of our harvest. We are thankful for your rewards, dear Patience.

We need you to help parents with their children. Help mothers, fathers, and grandparents to turn away, take a deep breath, and stop and think for a minute before they respond. Do not let the children test you, dear Patience, as we know they need you, too, to learn and grow in your virtue.

Please be with those who are seeking new jobs, who have financial struggles, and need you by their side. They are easily frustrated, they can be at a loss for their next action, and sometimes lose faith in themselves and others. Help them endure with calmness, dear Patience.

All good things come to those who wait in your billows of comfort. We anxiously await your visit.